Sembahyang Jumaat time, so I have to leave the missus at Yabao and find my way to a nearby traditional mosque - the Nanxiapo Mosque, also known as the Russian Market Mosque because of its proximity to a big Russian supermarket. There are 40 mosques in Beijing and I had wanted to go to the oldest and biggest and most famous - the Niujie Mosque, but it is closed for renovation.
I'm not sure how old Nanxiapo Mosque is, but one can see the characteristics of traditional Chinese buildings, as seen before in the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City - the colourful ceiling, the ridge on the roof, the figurines (only 3 of them, I counted) on the ridge, the roof tiles, etc.
Prayer starts at 1.30pm and before azan, a young Chinese chap (with serban, looking very cute :-)) gives a tazkirah in Mandarin. The khutbah is a straighforward affair in Arabic and Mandarin, delivered by another youngish chap. I hear that some of the mosque officials in Beijing studied at our UIA.
